Four in Double Figures Help UMass Lowell Defeat UAlbany, 104-95

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On Saturday afternoon at Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, MA. an offensive show was on display between the UAlbany Great Danes (12-15, 4-9) and the UMass Lowell River Hawks (19-7, 10-3). A crowd of 702 saw a lot of points scored by both teams. The River Hawks would get the better of it in the end thanks to four players finishing the game in double-figures. UMass Lowell defeated UAlbany by a 104-95 score. The 100+ points were the most the River Hawks have scored in a Division I game this season. It is the fifth time this season that they have scored over 50 points in the paint (56) and the second time vs the Great Danes. They would need every point in this one as their offensive output offset a tremendous individual performance by junior guard Sebastian Thomas of UAlbany who went for a career-high 42 points on 15-of-28 shooting, 8-for-8 from the foul line, and 4-of-9 from long range. This was easily one of the best performances in the conference this year.

Not to be outdone, the River Hawks also got some big-time games from a couple of senior players. Quinton Mincy recorded his third double-double of the season with a 24-point 12-rebound effort. Mincy was 13-of-16 from the free throw line. Max Brooks went for 29 points and six rebounds going 10-of-11 from the field and 9-of-10 from the foul line. The two combined for 53 points, 18 rebounds, and went 22-of-26 from the line. They would help to foul out three Great Danes players. Senior Guard Ayinde Hikim had 23 points, five assists, and four steals. If you like offensive basketball with a lot of points being scored, this was your kind of game.

If there was a downside to all of this it would be the turnover number for the River Hawks. They committed 17 turnovers which led to 24 UAlbany points. After the game, Mincy said some of the turnovers were “self-inflicted, others were good defense by UAlbany.” Either way, UMass Lowell must do a better job of taking care of the ball or it could come back to bite them come postseason time.

In the first half, there were three ties and five lead changes. A milestone was reached in the first half as Brooks joined the thousand-point club at UMass Lowell with a layup in the paint at the 12:29 mark. After the game, he said it was “an honor to reach it, spending my whole career here.” At the time, the River Hawks were down three at 16-13. UMass Lowell would take the lead at 20-19 thanks to a 5-0 run. A three-point basket from Andres Fulgencio was followed by a Brooks dunk to give the home team the lead. After a couple of ties, the River Hawks would put together another run that would give them a nine-point lead at 39-30. A 10-0 run with Mincy scoring seven of those points. Brooks gave them their first double-figure lead of the first half by knocking down two free throws at 45-35 with 1:03 left in the half. UMass Lowell headed to the locker room with an eight-point lead at 45-37. They are now 17-2 when leading at the half.

In the second half, the River Hawks never lost the lead. It reached its high of 18 points twice in the first seven and a half minutes of the half. The first time was on a three-point play from Brooks, who was fouled by Jack Margoupis in the paint. It was 65-47 with 13:44 to play. The second time was after a Yuri Covington layup (17 points) that made it a 67-49 game with 13:16 left in the game. At that point, it looked like the lead and the game was safe.

However, Sebastian Thomas had other ideas. He would play the entire second half as well as the game. He scored 29 points in the half alone. He was 9-of-16 from the field, 3-of-4 from deep, and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line. He took the game over in the second twenty minutes, and the River Hawks could do nothing about it. He drove the ball to the basket, knocked down little floaters in the line, stepped out and hit shots from deep, took the hits, and went to the foul line. It almost worked. He did get some help from his backcourt mate Amar’e Marshall who had 23 points for the game, 11 in the second half. After the game, River Hawks G/F Mincy said “They are tough, right up there with the best in the league.”

The Great Danes were playing fast and Thomas was hitting his stride. They got it down to a six-point deficit twice. Ny’Mire Little hit a three with 2:34 left to make it 93-87 River Hawks and then Marshall went to the basket and scored to make it 95-89 with 2:04 left. The only problem was the lead that UMass Lowell had was too big to overcome. The River Hawks are now 2-for-2 on their last homestand of the season after winning 104-95. For UAlbany, they have now lost five of six.

After the game, River Hawks assistant coach Ryan Daly said “At this time of year, anything you need to do to win a game.” He thought free-throw shooting was key. UMass Lowell was 36-of-47 at the line for the game, and 19-of-26 in the second half. UAlbany was 15-of-19 for the game, and 14-of-16 in the second half. Daly thought another key was they outrebounded the Great Danes by a 43-27 margin. UAlbany was missing one of the better big men in the league in sophomore Jonathan Beegle who last played for the Great Danes back on February 1 at Vermont. He has now missed the last six Great Danes games. Up next for UMass Lowell is a big one on Thursday night. Bryant College will be at Costello and the battle for second place will be on the line. Tip-off is at 6:30 PM.